Loyalty and Brands - UK - April 2016

“The differences in building and measuring loyalty across different sectors mean that brands must take a nuanced approach to fostering a connection with customers. Bigger brands with more exposure tend to have an immediate advantage in building favouritism; however, recent arrivals such as Netflix show that new brands, particularly those in digital markets, are capable of entering the market and competing from the off.”– Richard Hopping, Brand and Household Analyst

“The differences in building and measuring loyalty across different sectors mean that brands must take a nuanced approach to fostering a connection with customers. Bigger brands with more exposure tend to have an immediate advantage in building favouritism; however, recent arrivals such as Netflix show that new brands, particularly those in digital markets, are capable of entering the market and competing from the off.”– Richard Hopping, Brand and Household Analyst

Brand loyalty can be a concept that is hard to pin down, particularly as it differs so dramatically by sector. As a result, brands must take a nuanced approach as to how they define and measure their own brand loyalty.

While consumers tend to declare brands that have an overall positive brand image as favourites, they also have a propensity to use brands through inertia within some categories, such as energy and finance. Other factors like location, convenience and price can also negate factors such as favouritism.

The technology category continues to change the way that consumers engage with and view brands; the constant contact that consumers have with devices means that digital brands now make up a high proportion of the most favoured brands across Mintel’s Brand Research. They are also the brands that generate the most frequent usage, suggesting that they are now the brands attracting most brand loyalty.

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Table of contents

Overview

What you need to know

Report scope

Executive Summary

Big brands dominate

Figure 1: Top 10 brands, by total usage, January 2014-March 2016

Figure 2: Top 10 brands, by usage in the last 12 months, January 2014-March 2016

Digital lifestyles influence frequency of usage

Figure 3: Top 10 brands, by usage described as “All the time” by users, January 2014-March 2016

Amazon the standout performer on favouritism

Figure 4: Top 10 brands, by agreement with “This is a favourite brand”, January 2014-March 2016

Brands with high commitment drive usage in the last year

Figure 5: Proportion of brand commitment (agreement with “This is a favourite brand” or “I prefer this brand over others”), by proportion of total users who have used in the last year, January 2014-March 2016

Less of a pattern when it comes to frequent usage

Figure 6: Proportion of brand commitment (agreement with “This is a favourite brand” or “I prefer this brand over others”), by proportion of total users who describe their usage as “All the time”, January 2014-March 2016

Brand Usage

Figure 8: Top 10 brands, by usage in the last 12 months, January 2014-March 2016

Digital lifestyles influence frequency of usage

Figure 9: Top 10 brands, by usage described as “All the time” by users, January 2014-March 2016

Some categories open to lapsed users

Figure 10: Top 10 brands, by lapsed users, January 2014-March 2016

Favouritism and Commitment

The power of emotion

Amazon the standout performer

Technology habits drive favouritism

The giants of CPG benefit

Figure 11: Top 10 brands, by agreement with “This is a favourite brand”, January 2014-March 2016

Food brands attract more casual preference

Proof that Apple fanboys exist

Figure 12: Top 10 brands, by commitment (net agreement with “This is a favourite brand” and “I prefer this brand over others”), January 2014-March 2016

Figure 13: Proportion of brand commitment (agreement with “This is a favourite brand” or “I prefer this brand over others”), by brand favouritism (agreement with “This is a favourite brand”), January 2014-March 2016

Where Usage and Favouritism Meet

General correlation between usage in the last year and commitment

Figure 14: Proportion of brand commitment (agreement with “This is a favourite brand” or “I prefer this brand over others”), by proportion of total users who have used in the last year, January 2014-March 2016

Lower correlation between frequent usage and commitment

Figure 15: Proportion of brand commitment (agreement with “This is a favourite brand” or “I prefer this brand over others”), by proportion of total users who use “All the time”, January 2014-March 2016

Loyalty differs by sector

Figure 16: Consumer perceptions of how well different firms reward loyalty, December 2015